1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pick assembly for use in playing a stringed musical instrument and, more particularly, to such an assembly having a pick holder with a pick hingedly attached thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pick has long been used to play stringed instruments. The pick is also known as a plectrum and is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. The pick is typically a narrow, isosceles triangle with rounded corners and the most acute angle of the pick is the one which constitutes the pick tip used to pluck the string of the musical instrument. The size, shape and width of a pick may vary considerably. Generally a pick is adapted to be held on the thumb or between the finger and thumb of a user.
A guitar is commonly played with the pick held between the thumb and first finger of a hand and the tightness with which the pick is held determines how much movement of the pick occurs when striking the strings. This refers not to hand movement but to movement of the pick itself beneath the thumb. This movement of the pick produces differences in the angle at which the pick strikes the strings and provides for a feel that is useful to guitarists in producing variations of tone and loudness in the sound of the instruments.
Picks worn on the thumb are generally referred to as thumbpicks. Thumbpicks are important because they free the fingers to operate independently from the thumb. Thumbpicks, however, sacrifice movement of the pick beneath the thumb. This occurs because in order to keep a thumbpick in place, a band around the thumb is needed and must be made of a material which will tightly hold the pick to the thumb when playing. This often results in undesirably thick material having to be used, an uncomfortable fit, and most significantly, the desired up and down movement of the pick beneath the thumb is sacrificed.
Past efforts and endeavors by inventors to overcome the above-noted thumbpick difficulties haven't fully resolved the difficulties. For example, the tip of a thumbpick can be made more thin then it's band, allowing flexibility in the material at the tip. This, however, doesn't produce the feel or tone that a pick held loosely under the thumb can produce. Other efforts have involved changes in the length and shape of the pick without addressing the desirability of up and down movement under the thumb. Efforts that have addressed this desired up and down movement haven't enabled the thumb alone to vary and control how much of this movement occurs. Neither have such efforts kept the flesh of the thumb, next to the strings, entirely free and clear.